Strengthening emergency preparedness in communities across Aotearoa New Zealand, starting with our youngest learners.
Through the Kia Rite, Get Ready! Whānau Emergency Preparedness Planning project, Save the Children New Zealand and QBE Insurance through the QBE Foundation are supporting families with pre-school children to better prepare for emergencies in ways that are practical, child-centred, and grounded in everyday family life.
Alongside education, centres and whānau will receive essential resources, including emergency preparedness equipment, Go‑Bags, Whānau Emergency Preparedness Toolkits, and Child‑Friendly Space Guides, helping participating centres, tamariki and families feel informed, equipped, and ready in times of emergency.
Thank you to our partner QBE Insurance for supporting this programme.
How the programme works
Aotearoa New Zealand is a country where emergencies are part of everyday life. Earthquakes, flooding, fires, and severe weather events can occur with little warning, and children are often among those most affected.
This programme helps young children, teachers, and whānau build confidence and practical skills to prepare for emergencies. It uses simple, child‑centred learning, hands‑on activities, and engaging videos to make preparedness easy to understand and relevant for everyday life.
Resources like Go-Bags help turn learning into action, supporting meaningful conversations and preparedness at home as well as in early learning centres.
The programme is designed to be flexible and community‑led, allowing each centre to adapt activities to fit their own culture, routines, and local needs. This builds trust, strengthens local ownership, and ensures the approach works for diverse communities.
Making a real difference
Children and teachers are at the heart of this programme’s success. Tamariki often take what they learn home, encouraging families to talk about emergencies and take early steps to prepare. Kaiako reinforce preparedness by weaving it into daily learning and routines, helping create lasting change that continues well beyond the programme.
Mana Montessori
As part of the programme, Save the Children worked alongside Mana Montessori to deliver an in‑person information session for parents and caregivers, creating a welcoming space to learn, share, and build confidence around emergency preparedness. The session introduced families to the Emergency Preparedness Planning project, highlighting the importance of clear household emergency plans, ready‑to‑go Go-Bags, and sharing a series of child‑friendly videos designed to help parents and children understand what to do in an emergency.
The session was well attended by highly engaged parents who were keen to strengthen their own preparedness and better support their tamariki.
Parents shared personal experiences and reflected on their current levels of readiness, creating a supportive, open learning environment that encouraged honest conversation and practical action to be better prepared in the event of an emergency.
Parents from Mana Montessori during a Kia Rite Workshop.
“I had batteries and torches, but I hadn’t thought about having a bag ready with shoes, clothes, and money. It made me realise what you actually need, and won’t be able to organise in the moment."
A Mana Montessori Parent
From awareness to action
While many parents were aware of general emergency advice, such as tsunami evacuation routes, the programme highlighted a critical gap; clearly understood whānau developed preparedness plans that include children. Several parents reflected that they had never talked through emergency scenarios with their tamariki in a way that felt practical or age‑appropriate.
A key breakthrough for families was the idea of a ready‑to‑go grab bag. Although many households had emergency supplies at home, parents realised how challenging it would be to locate and gather essential items under stress. Having a prepared Go Bag made emergency planning feel immediate, achievable, and realistic.
Learning short, simple emergency response instructions is also key to preparedness, these include:
Earthquake – Drop, cover and hold!
Fire – Get out and stay out!
Flood – Go early and go high!
Tsunami – If it’s long and strong, get gone!
The child‑friendly emergency preparedness videos were especially well received. Parents valued the clear narration, calm tone, and accessible explanations, with many saying the videos made it easier to start conversations at home.